President picks 'point person' to oversee Detroit aid

Don Graver, deputy assistant secretary at the U.S. Treasury and executive director of President Barack Obama's Council on Jobs and Competitiveness, was appointed by the White House to oversee federal aid headed to Detroit. Graver's position was announced along side members of President Obama's administration with city and state officials who announced federal grant support for the City of Detroit Friday, Sept. 27. (Tanya Moutzalias | MLive.com)

DETROIT, MI -- The president's chief economic adviser Gene Sperling said Friday that the White House will appoint someone to watch over federal aid headed to Detroit.

Update: Don Graves, a deputy assistant secretary at the U.S. Treasury, was appointed to lead the federal response to Detroit's bankruptcy.

Gene Sperling, director of the president's National Economic Council, announced the appointment on Friday during a press conference with Obama administration, state and city officials detailing more than $300 million in aid for Detroit.

The federal grants are aimed at boosting public safety, anti-blight efforts and public transportation in Detroit.

The funds are partly made up of previously awarded grants that were tied up in administrative processes.

Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan said $65 million in Community Development Block grants have been "unlocked" for the purpose of demolishing deteriorating vacant houses.

He said another $10 million will be freed up for demolition of blighted commercial structures.

"We all believe that this will be one of the great comeback stories in the history of American cities," Donovan said.

He said Gov. Rick Snyder made an additional $5 million available for anti-blight work, plus $10 million from philanthropic organizations.

"This is about everyone coming with resources to the table," said Snyder.

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder announces federal grant spending in the City of Detroit to the media following talks on aid Friday, Sept. 27. (Tanya Moutzalias | MLive.com)

Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx announced $30 million to fix Detroit's buses, and U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder announced grants to hire police officers and provide technology upgrades.

"If we can get the right kind of public transportation, it's going to enhance the ability of so many of our citizens to get where they need to go, when they need to get there," said Mayor Dave Bing.

Sperling said portions of the funds were freed by overcoming "bureaucratic challenges at the federal or city level."

"We brought not only a team of HUD professionals, we also brought technical assistance to process problems, the bottleneck, the red tape we needed to get through to get this going," said Donovan.

Sperling said future Detroit meetings will take place involving the president's chief technology officer, who will bring a team to the city to help with upgrades, and the education and labor secretaries, who will lead skills training initiatives.

"What happened today is kind of unparalleled," said Bing. "Not only did they help us in getting some funding turned loose, they're also bringing needed expertise in terms of human capital."